Hyundai has finally launched its global compact SUV Creta in India in a price domain of Rs. 8.59-13.60 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). This is for the first time that Hyundai has entered the fast paced and competitive SUV segment, though it doesn’t fall under 4m mark like Ford EcoSport. The Creta is available in both petrol and diesel avatars with the three engines- one petrol and two diesel. Hyundai Creta is available in six variants- Base, S, S+, Sx, Sx+ and top spec Sx (O) and the vehicle will rival against the likes of Nissan Terrano, Renault Duster and upcoming Maruti S-Cross. Additionally, Hyundai has received over 15,000 bookings for the compact SUV before its launch. Let us see what Creta has in-store for us:-
Price:
The Hyundai Creta gets more than 90 percent of local content which certainly helped the car maker to price it aggressively. The compact SUV comes at an introductory price of Rs. 8.59 lakh for the base petrol variant which ends up at Rs. 11.19 lakh* for top spec petrol trim. While the diesel Creta would cost you for Rs. 9.46 to 13.60 lakh* including 1.4 and 1.6 variants. The single AT variant in diesel comes at Rs. 13.57 lakh* which according to us is a deal breaker.
*All prices are of ex-showroom Delhi.
Engine details:
Hyundai Creta is available with a choice of three engine options- a1.6L petrol and diesel engine along with a 1.4L diesel motor. Let’s start with petrol first; a 1.6L four cylinder VTVT engine is good for 121bhp power@6000rpm and peak torque of 151Nm@4850rpm. The engine is mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox and delivers an ARAI certified mileage of 15.29KMPL.
The Creta is offered with diesel in two states of tunes- 1.4L; 1396cc CRDi mill develops a max power of 89bhp@4000rpm and 220Nm of torque between 1500-2750rpm while coupled to a six-speed manual transmission. On the contrary, the bigger 1.6L CRDi VGT unit is also available with Creta which churns out 126bhp of massive power@4000rpm and peak torque of 260Nm between 1900-2750rpm. The top ranging engine comes with both six speed manual and an automatic transmission which makes it the only diesel automatic in its segment.
As for the fuel efficiency, 1.4L diesel delivers 21.38KMPL of claimed mileage while 1.6L returns 19.67 and 17.01 KMPL in the automatic and manual variants respectively.
Space and Dimensions:
The Baby Santa Fe Creta is a five seater compact SUV which is not that compact when it comes to dimensions. The Creta is 4270mm long which is around 270mm longer than EcoSport and 45mm shorter than Duster. Same story is being repeated in other departments as well as with the width of 1780mm it is slightly wider than EcoSport but falls short in front of Duster. Hyundai’s compact SUV is 1630mm tall and has a wheelbase of 2590mm to ensure sufficient amount of knee room space for the occupants. The fuel tank capacity and ground clearance stands at 55 liters and 190mm respectively.
Exterior and Interior:
Hyundai Creta has been designed adhering to company’s latest 2.0 fluidic design philosophy which makes it one of the most good looking SUV in the segment. The Baby Santa Fe adorns a wide three slat hexagonal grille with sweptback headlamps that feature projector unit and daytime running lights (only in top variants). Front fascia also gets faux black skid plates underlined by silver finish line accompanied by a set of vertical fog lamps.
Side profile looks sporty thanks to the shoulder lines that merge into the taillights, Creta rides on 17 inch alloy wheels and features ORVM with integrated LED turn blinkers, side black cladding, chrome finished door handles adds to the character of the SUV. The rear end too looks smart with spilt taillights which gives faux LED effect, chrome garnish above the number plate, faux silver skid on bumper and reflectors.
Step inside and you’ll be welcomed by dual tone finish dashboard which looks similar to other Hyundai models. In addition the quality and the material used is top notch with ample amount storage spaces. In terms of features Creta comes loaded with some alluring equipments like 5 inch touchscreen audio system with 1GB storage, four speakers, two tweeters, bluetooth, Aux-in and USB connectivity while top variants are equipped by a bigger touchscreen infotainment system with video navigation.
Besides these features, Creta has more to offer with a fully automatic climate control with mood change bar, start stop button, electrically foldable ORVMs (outer rear view mirror), two 12V power sockets, height adjustable drive seat, multi function steering wheel with tilt function, front and rear power windows and metal finish inside door handles. Leather accolade Seats, gear knob, door and central armrest and many more give cabin some premium touch.
Colors:
Hyundai is offering Creta in seven well-groomed colors which are Stardust, Phantom black, Red passion, pearl beige, sleek silver, mystic blue and polar white. We expect Polar white and Stardust to be the bestsellers of the lot.
Safety:
According to Hyundai, Creta will keep its occupants safe as it is build on an ultra high strength steel frame chassis with high strength welding and multiple cross members on the roof for enhanced roof strength. Besides strong structure, Hyundai has equipped Creta with number of essential safety features like six airbags including dual, side and curtain airbags, electronic stability control (ESC), vehicle stability management (VSM), hill start assist control (HAC) (only in AT), impact sensing auto door lock and lane change indicator.
Features like Anti-lock braking system (ABS) with electronic brake force distribution (EBD) are available as standard equipments on Creta. The SUV is also available with park assist package which includes rear parking sensors and reverse parking camera with steering adaptive parking and display guidelines.
